Five days in Edinburgh

Since Ferda and I were in Glasgow heading to London, we had to stop by Edinburgh, right? It pops up on lists of travellers’ favorite cities in Europe, and maybe that was part of the problem. I think I had high expectations, imagining something like Cáceres on steroids. By the end of the first day I was pretty unimpressed. However, Edinburgh grew on me, and by the end of our visit I understood why people like it.

20250608_172445 by bryandkeith on flickr

On our first afternoon we happened upon the Mansfield Traquair Centre on the one day/month that they’re open to the public. It’s an old church now used for events.

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Two days in Glasgow

I don’t understand air fares. It’s over 3300km from Antalya to Glasgow, and we bought tickets on Coredon for US$92/person. Crazy. Our goal was to get to London, but when we saw that deal, we decided to visit Scotland for the first time.

In the immigration line at the Glasgow airport we ran into friends of friends, Cansu and Yiğit, another childless couple living in Antalya and traveling around. 🙂

Yiğit and Cansu -- friends of friends who also in Antalya by bryandkeith on flickr

I checked the internet and saw that if we hurried we’d make it to the Glasgow Cathedral before they closed that afternoon.

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Homonada Yolu walking: Kızılca to Seydişehir

Another walking tour in Konya where they take our bags from one camp to another and all we have to do is walk. Unlike the first two, this tour was organized by Seydişehir Belediyesi. Turns out the organizers at Konya Büyükşehir Belediyesi and Seydişehir Belediyesi have some sort of unpleasant rivalry/competition going on. I tried to avoid understanding the politics of municipality-sponsored walking tours.

I took a public bus to Seydişehir and got dropped off at a restaurant on the main highway just 2.5km from Kuğulu Park where some of us camped the first night. I set up my tent about 5pm (before the rain) and was surprised there were only about four tents already there. Most people arrived the following morning since they had to work on Wednesday.

IMG_20250528_154750 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Mnara Antik Kenti

This one has been on my list for a long time. The setting of the tiny theater on a high ridge in the mountains above Antalya is impressive. It’s where all the photos that you see on the internet are taken. Philipp‘s been up here at least a couple times, and it would have been more fun to come with him than with a big group, but Ahmet called and told me about this plan with TODOSK. On the dolmuş ride to the trailhead, I sat next to 83-year-old Durmuş Ali Abi who I hadn’t seen in years. Great to see that he’s still a strong hiker. I also met some fun new folks who hopefully I’ll see again.

IMG_20250518_144134 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Keykubad Yolu walking: Güneycik to Çıplaklı

After last spring’s walk on the Zengibar Yolu, Ferda and I knew what we were getting into this time. This five-day tour was also organized by the Konya Büyükşehir Belediyesi though the route was entirely in Antalya İli (province). We started in Güneycik (Gündoğmuş); most of the route was in Alanya İlçe (district).

The best thing was that we went with a fun group of friends. This was the first time we’ve seen Emek and Görkem since Şavşat four years ago.

IMG_20250422_163941 by bryandkeith on flickr

Likya Yolu apparently didn’t scare away Gülizar and Ali. They joined us again from İzmir.

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